Guadalupe Mountains NP - The Pinery and McKittrick Canyon Nature Trails
Day 2
On the next morning of my overnight trip I got a late start. I meant to wake up and do a longer hike but I woke up feeling worn out from the day before. I instead took my time packing up and decided to hike The Pinery Nature Trail. Its an easy paved trail that leaves from directly behind the Visitors Center. There are a lot of interpretive signs along the trail. It is an easy walk to the ruins of The Pinery, a stage stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route in 1858. While only a little of the original building is still standing, it is amazing for being over 150 years old.
After The Pinery, I drove over to McKittrick Canyon Contact Station. It is about a 10 mile drive and what I would call the closest thing Guadalupe Mountains has to a scenic drive. From there I hiked the McKittrick Canyon Nature Trail. This trail also has interpretive signs and great views toward McKittrick Canyon. It also displays the desert plants and some fierce Guadalupe winds!
Guadalupe Mountains National Park - Dog Canyon to Pine Springs
Day 3
The third day I woke up at Dog Canyon planning on hiking less than 10 miles to Pine Top. But I quickly decided to push over 16 miles to Pine Springs. My main reason was to carry less water with me.
I hiked up the Tejas trail to the Juniper trail. I then hike the Bowl and summit Hunter Peak. I finally hike down Bear Canyon to Frijole Ranch and finish the day on the Foothills trail. I hike a total of 16.3 miles.
Texas: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is in the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas, east of El Paso. The mountain range includes Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,749 feet (2,667 m), and El Capitan which was used as a landmark by travelers along the route later followed by the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line. The ruins of an old stagecoach station stand near the Pine Springs visitor center. The restored Frijole Ranch contains a small museum of local ranching history and is the trailhead for Smith Spring. The park covers 86,367 acres (134.9 sq mi; 349.5 km2) in the same mountain range as Carlsbad Caverns National Park, about 25 miles (40 km) to the north in New Mexico. The Guadalupe Peak Trail winds through pinyon pine and Douglas-fir forests as it ascends over 3,000 feet (910 m) to the summit of Guadalupe Peak, with views of El Capitan and the Chihuahuan Desert.
The park also contains McKittrick Canyon. A trail in the canyon leads to a stone cabin built in the early 1930s as the vacation home of Wallace Pratt, a petroleum geologist who donated land to establish the park.
Dog Canyon, on the northern park boundary at the Texas-New Mexico State line, is accessed via Carlsbad, New Mexico or Dell City, Texas. Camping is available at the Pine Springs campground and at Dog Canyon. A public corral for livestock is available by reservation.
Gypsum sand dunes lie on the west side of the park near Dell City. A rough four-wheel drive road leads to the Williams Ranch.
Archaeological evidence has shown that people lived over 10,000 years ago in and among the many caves and alcoves. Hunter-gatherers followed large game and collected edible vegetation. This conclusion is supported by the discovery of projectile points, baskets, pottery, and rock art.
The first Europeans to arrive in the area were the Spanish in the 16th century, introducing horses; nomadic indigenous tribes like the Apaches soon found them an asset for hunting and migrating. Mescalero Apaches followed game and harvested the agave (or mescal) for food and fiber (Mescalero is Spanish for mescal-maker). Agave roasting pits and other artifacts of Mescalero culture can be found in the park.
The Mescalero Apaches remained in the mountains through the mid-19th century, but they were challenged by an American transportation route at the end of the American Civil War. During the 1840s and 1850s many people immigrating west crossed the area. In 1858, Pinery Station was constructed near Pine Springs for the Butterfield Overland Mail. The Butterfield Overland Mail traveled over Guadalupe Pass located at 5,534 ft (1,687 m) above sea level. The 9th Cavalry Regiment was ordered to the area to stop Indian raids on settlements and mail stage route. During the winter of 1869, Lt. H.B. Cushing led his troops into the Guadalupe Mountains and destroyed two Mescalero Apache camps. They were eventually driven out of the area and into US reservations.
Felix McKittrick was one of the first European settlers in the Guadalupe Mountains; he worked cattle during the 1870s. McKittrick Canyon is thought to be named after him.
In 1921, Wallace Pratt, a geologist for Humble Oil and Refining Company, was impressed by the beauty of McKittrick Canyon and bought the land to build two houses there. Both were used as summer homes by Pratt and his family up until 1960. Wallace Pratt donated about 6,000 acres (9.4 sq mi; 24.3 km2) of McKittrick Canyon which became part of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which was dedicated and formally opened to the public in September, 1972.
There are three major ecosystems contained within the mountain range. First of all, deserts exhibit salt flats on the western side of the National Park and creosote desert, with low elevations on the east covered with grassland, pinyon pine (Pinus edulis) and junipers such as alligator juniper (J. deppeana) and one-seeded juniper (J. monosperma). Secondly, canyon interiors such as McKittrick, Bear, and Pine Springs Canyon on the southeast end exhibit maple, ash, chinquapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii), and other deciduous trees. These trees are able to grow in the desert due to springs of water recharged by wet uplands. Finally, alpine uplands known as 'The Bowl' exceeding elevations of 7,000 ft (2,100 m) are clothed with denser forests of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), southwestern white pine (Pinus strobiformis), and Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii subsp. glauca), with small stands of aspen.
The range contains many large cave systems, including Carlsbad Caverns and Lechuguilla Cave.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park - Pine Springs to Mescalero
Day 1
On this first day of my trip, I arrive at Pine Springs after a 7 hour drive and hike 7 miles on the Tejas Trail from Pine Springs to Mescalero Backcountry Campsite. My base pack weight was about 9.5lbs and my overall weight including food and water started out around 26lbs.
Hiking McKittrick Canyon to Dog Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains National Park
My brother and I hiked the McKittrick Canyon trail to Dog Canyon, summiting McKittrick Ridge (Pt. 7716), Pt. 7916, and Lost Peak. I also sumitted Pt. 7275 on the way back the next day. It was a cold night at Dog Canyon since my sleeping bag wasn't up to the task, but otherwise we enjoyed ourselves and took in some great views.
National Park Guadalupe Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is an American national park in the Guadalupe Mountains, east of El Paso, Texas.
The mountain range includes Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,749 feet , and El Capitan used as a landmark by travelers on the route later followed by the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line.
The ruins of a stagecoach station stand near the Pine Springs visitor center.
The restored Frijole Ranch contains a small museum of local history and is the trailhead for Smith Spring.
The park covers 86,367 acres in the same mountain range as Carlsbad Caverns National Park, about 25 miles to the north in New Mexico.
The Guadalupe Peak Trail winds through pinyon pine and Douglas-fir forests as it ascends over 3,000 feet to the summit of Guadalupe Peak, with views of El Capitan and the Chihuahuan Desert.
The McKittrick Canyon trail leads to a stone cabin built in the early 1930s as the vacation home of Wallace Pratt, a petroleum geologist who donated the land.
Dog Canyon, on the northern park boundary at the Texas-New Mexico State line, is accessed via Carlsbad, New Mexico or Dell City, Texas.
Camping is available at the Pine Springs campground and at Dog Canyon.
A public corral for livestock is available by reservation.
The Gypsum sand dunes lie on the west side of the park near Dell City.
A rough four-wheel drive road leads to the Williams Ranch.
The Guadalupe Mountains give their name to the Guadalupian series in the Permian period.
The International Commission on Stratigraphy estimates the mountain range's age at 272–260 Mya.
The mountains have had a tumultuous history for thousands of years.
Archaeological evidence shows that people have lived there lived over 10,000 years in and among the many caves and alcoves.
Hunter-gatherers followed large game and collected edible vegetation, as evidenced by the discovery of projectile points, baskets, pottery and rock art
The first Europeans to arrive in the area were the Spanish in the 16th century, but they did not make serious attempts to settle in the area.
The Spanish introduced horses; nomadic indigenous tribes like the Apaches soon found them an asset for hunting and migrating.
Mescalero Apaches followed game and harvested the agave for food and fiber .
Agave roasting pits and other artifacts of Mescalero culture can be found in the park.
The Mescalero Apaches occupied the mountains through the mid-19th century, but were challenged by an American transportation route at the end of the American Civil War.
During the 1840s and 1850s, many immigrants travelling west crossed the area.
In 1858, Pinery Station was constructed near Pine Springs for the Butterfield Overland Mail.
The Butterfield Overland Mail crossed the Guadalupe Pass located at 5,534 ft above sea level.
The 9th Cavalry Regiment was ordered to the area to stop Indian raids on settlements and mail stage route.
During the winter of 1869, Lt. H.B.
Cushing led his troops into the Guadalupe Mountains and destroyed two Mescalero Apache camps.
They were eventually driven out of the area and into US reservations.
Felix McKittrick was one of the first European settlers in the Guadalupe Mountains; he worked cattle during the 1870s.
McKittrick Canyon is thought to be named after him.
Frijole Ranch was the first permanent ranch house, constructed in 1876 by the Rader brothers.
It became the only major building in the region and served as a community center and regional post office from 1916 to 1942.
Today, it has been restored and serves as a cultural museum.
In 1908 Williams Ranch House was built, and it was named after one of its inhabitants, James Adolphus Williams.
The Boquillas Canyon trail Tx
Description
The Boquillas Canyon trail Tx
McKittrick Canyon Overnight
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Filmed and produced on iPhone with Moment wide angle and macro lenses.
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Editing Tool: GoPro Studio
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Guadalupe Mountains National Park | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
00:01:47 1 History
00:04:57 2 Geography and climate
00:07:27 3 Ecology
00:08:49 3.1 Fauna
00:09:24 4 See also
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SUMMARY
=======
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is an American national park in the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas, east of El Paso. The mountain range includes Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,749 feet (2,667 m), and El Capitan which was used as a landmark by travelers along the route later followed by the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line. The ruins of an old stagecoach station stand near the Pine Springs visitor center. The restored Frijole Ranch contains a small museum of local ranching history and is the trailhead for Smith Spring. The park covers 86,367 acres (134.9 sq mi; 349.5 km2) in the same mountain range as Carlsbad Caverns National Park, about 25 miles (40 km) to the north in New Mexico. The Guadalupe Peak Trail winds through pinyon pine and Douglas-fir forests as it ascends over 3,000 feet (910 m) to the summit of Guadalupe Peak, with views of El Capitan and the Chihuahuan Desert.
The park also contains McKittrick Canyon. A trail in the canyon leads to a stone cabin built in the early 1930s as the vacation home of Wallace Pratt, a petroleum geologist who donated land to establish the park.
Dog Canyon, on the northern park boundary at the Texas-New Mexico State line, is accessed via Carlsbad, New Mexico or Dell City, Texas. Camping is available at the Pine Springs campground and at Dog Canyon. A public corral for livestock is available by reservation.
Gypsum sand dunes lie on the west side of the park near Dell City. A rough four-wheel drive road leads to the Williams Ranch.
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